Every year, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research releases “The Financial Statistics of Social Security in Japan.” The statistics estimate both total and categorical amounts of annual receipt and expenditure on social security schemes in Japan on the basis of two international standards; the ILO (International Labour Organization) standards and the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) standards. In 2012, “The Financial Statistics of Social Security in Japan” was designated as under the scope of Fundamental Statistics by the Statistical Act.
According to the time-series trend of social benefit by three categories, the benefits for pensions and medical care have been increasing year by year as a result of the ongoing phenomenon of population aging and the advancement of medical technology. |
●Social benefit by category
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The international comparison shows that most social expenditure goes to the elderly in Japan. According to the comparative social expenditure per GDP by nine policy areas, social expenditure on the elderly - such as pension or long-term care benefits - is the second highest, while social expenditure on family - such as family benefits - is the second lowest among the six developed countries compared. Statistics have been broadly used as fundamental sources to monitor social security policies and their financing, and also as a significant index to conduct international comparisons of social security expenditures. ●International Comparison of Social Expenditure relative to GDP in FY2013
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